Waterford Parks & Recreation Director Tom Newcombe is disappointed the Waterford police and parks millages didn't pass in Tuesday's election, stating "It's the dawn of a new era." He said Carl "(Solden) has been a good boss. He's been very supportive. But I know Gary Wall too. We used to play softball against each other, and he's always been supportive of Parks and Rec." The Oakland Press/DOUG BAUMAN

What's next for the Waterford Township Police - now that the 1.95 mill tax increase failed in Tuesday's election?

Waterford Township Police Chief Dan McCaw said it's up to the new Township Board.

"They're the ones who do the budget," said McCaw. "We have a new board, so sometimes they have a different direction they want to go in."

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Voters passed on the special assessment district, which received 17,298 "no" votes and 16,207 "yes" votes.

McCaw said he will be in meetings within the next two days to discuss next steps. If the tax hike had passed, 18 to 20 police officers would have been hired and laid-off officers would have been recalled. Now, it's unknown what will happen.

"I had my construction business to run until yesterday," Wall said. "Today, I've got to start thinking about the police department."

Solden, whose last day in office is Nov. 20, said he was disappointed that the special assessment district failed.

"I really am concerned about the safety and welfare of our citizens," said Solden. "Government is a service providing organization. The two most critical services are police and fire. And it's very important to staff the department so you have the people who can respond and take care of those problems. That, to me, is huge."

Solden said he hopes the new board will realize how critical of a service the Waterford Township Police Department is to the community.

Watch a report on the voter reaction on today's News at Noon.

"I hope they'll continue to try and do something to enhance the police department and get more people on the street because that is something that is very important. I hope they take that direction, and they realize exactly what the police department is all about," he said.

Some residents think the proposal would have passed if the proposed tax increase was smaller.

Waterford Township resident Rosemind Taber said she voted against the special assessment district.

"I think people are pressed right now with their bills and the economy right now," she said. "I think if they went with a lower amount, they might have had a better chance."

Clinton Juntunen, who just graduated last week from Waterford's Police Citizens Academy, said he saw firsthand that the police department is understaffed.

"I guess the police department is just going to have to do the best they can with what they have left," said Juntunen. "From what I understand, they're probably going to lose some more officers. It's unfortunate. Currently, they only have between four to six officers on patrol at any time."

Juntunen said a lot of people told him the police department asked for too much.

"The number of officers in the department right now are too low. But, in retrospect, maybe they should have asked for a smaller amount," he said.

When Waterford resident Crystal Ross heard that the special assessment district failed, she reacted, "I think it kind of sucks."

"It should have passed. I don't want this place to turn into Pontiac. I definitely voted yes for it," she said. "They deserve it. My mom, being a crossing guard for the Waterford School District, said she's afraid she'll lose her job now."

Tom Newcombe, director of Parks and Recreation, commented that the parks proposal for a 0.5-mill increase also failed.

"It's the dawn of a new era, I guess. We're disappointed the police and the parks and recreation millages went down. But we asked the voters, and they gave us their answer. We just have to go forward from here," said Newcombe. "It will be hard because I think the (board) will have to cut some money out of the budget. We've cut over the last eight or nine years, since I've been (parks) director. We used to have 17 full-time employees and now we have six."

The police proposal was not the only thing on Waterford Township voters' minds Tuesday. Several residents were also surprised that, after 12 years as Waterford Township supervisor, Carl Solden was defeated by challenger Republican Gary Wall.

Newcombe said, "(Solden) has been a good boss. He's been very supportive. But I know Gary Wall too. We used to play softball against each other, and he's always been supportive of Parks and Rec."

Waterford Township resident Maude Colyer said she's excited for a new supervisor.

"I think change is good, so we'll see what happens," she said.

Wall said his win came from hard work. He won with 16,867 votes to Solden's 16,145.

"We got out and we door-knocked; we did everything we were supposed to do," Wall said Wednesday. "I had a lot of people helping me."

Solden, who has been in office since 2000, "called and left me a real nice message last night," Wall said.

Wall, who takes office the same day Solden leaves, said, "It's going to be a team effort; we have to sit down and crunch numbers."

Solden said it will be hard to leave, but he knows that's the democratic process. He assures, although he is probably done with politics, he will still be active in the community.

He said it's been a "tough 12 years" with the decrease in revenue sharing and property values.

"But it's been a great job, and I wouldn't trade it for the world," said Solden. "I'll miss the people I worked with on a daily basis, the people out in the community. I've met so many good people, and my hat goes off to each and every one of them. A lot of them assist us in providing a lot of the services we do. I just had a great, great experience."